Fuzzballs
by skabs
Summary: rated for future purposes, a new mutant has been welcomed into the mansion. how will shiva blend in, and whats coming after her?
1. Default Chapter

Ok, this is a new fic, written after reading some really cool fics on this website!!! Umm, unfortunately I can't recommend them, cause I really can't remember whose I read... ^_^ ... sorry!  
  
Disclaimer- X-men in any incarnation do not belong to me, but Shiva's my babey... I mean it! Mine!  
  
Thanks!  
  
***** She woke as a shiver ran down her spine. Her eyes snapped open, instantly alert as only a wild thing could be. The lights were bright on her over sensitive, slitted eyes, and the wires leading from her body itched where the fur had been shaved to accommodate the tape holding them down. She tried to move her head to the side to observe more of the antiseptically white room as her sight cleared the last of its sleepiness, or the drugs that had been pumped into her earlier, but she couldn't move. A large block had been snuggled up against her head to prevent injury. Buckles with heavy padding secured her arms and legs, and her stomach had a belt around it. She wasn't wearing the clothes she had collapsed in. Instead she was covered by pale blue pants with the cuffs rolled up, and a white tank top that smelled like it had just been washed in spring rain detergent. She let out a growl, her light pink lips where curled, her pointed canines glistened under the lamps. She clenched her fists; the long fingers had thick pads on the tips and claws that bit into her palms.  
  
/Young lady./  
  
She growled again as the soft voice filled her mind. It felt fuzzy, pleasant and cool, but she didn't like the invasion of her thoughts.  
  
"I apologize then." The same soft voice said out loud, "I was just trying to calm you down."  
  
"Then releasssse me..." The girl replied, "And I'll ssshow you jusssst how calm I can be." She tugged on her restraints and grinned up at the ceiling.  
  
"Very well." The voice said, shocking her into staying still... she didn't think they'd just unhook her. "The restraints were for our own safety as we attended your wounds. And trust me, with your reflexes young lady, they were needed." The head padding was the first to go. She looked over to where the voice was coming from and glared at the short bald man. As a tall boy with red sunglasses and a welcoming smile unhooked the arm and belly restraints the girl took the opportunity to sit up. When she did she realized with a slight shock that the man wasn't short, he was sitting in a wheel chair. His pale blue eyes sparkled with quiet intelligence, the kind that did not need to be shouted to be understood. It was as if everything in the room bowed to the man, and he sat as if in a great throne.  
  
"Sir?" the boy had finished unhooking her and was looking to the man for instructions.  
  
"You may go Scott, if you wish." The bald man nodded and the boy smiled at the girl and left the white room. She implanted the warm slightly metallic scent into her memory and named it Scott. But the man before her smelled like a spring morning in her mothers garden, before the change came. He smiled again, gently, and held out a hand. She placed her palm in his and let him lead her from the white room. In the hallway he dropped her hand and let her lope next to him on all fours while he directed his machine to an elevator. "You may call me Professor Xavier, and this," he said as the elevator doors opened onto an elegant wood dominated hallway, "Is my school for gifted youngsters." Chinese throw rugs decorated the floor, and a grandfather clock chimed nine o'clock as they passed it. Small tables held beautiful flower arrangements that held their own sweet perfume and the slightly more masculine aroma of the Professor.  
  
"You did thesssse..." she smiled, propping herself up on one of the tables to take a closer sniff. Though she could stand straight like a normal human, she preferred the crouch of a great cat as she settled back on all fours and caught up with the Prof.  
  
"Yes, I enjoy floral arrangements, they are very soothing."  
  
"Yeah." She sighed as they entered a comfortable office space, the furniture large and heavy, and spaced far apart to allow access to the Prof's wheelchair.  
  
"I would like to offer you a space in my school Patricia." She stopped studying the shelves filled with books of all shapes and sizes, all types from mystery novels to atom splitting research, and gave him a pointed glare.  
  
"I don't want you in my head."  
  
"Understood, that was the name the boys throwing rocks at you were using."  
  
"Sssorry." She sat on the floor and hugged her knees to her chest. "It wasssn't alwaysss like that you know."  
  
"I know... would you like to talk about it?" he watched her with eyes that were so like her fathers that she scooted closer and purred when he placed his wide palm on her head. He ruffled her hair as the tears began to fall.  
  
"I- I don't know what happened! One morning I woke up and I had all this fur on me!" she rubbed the tan fur that covered her arms and legs. The fur covered her limbs and the tops of her hands and feet, ran down her sides and under her breasts, leaving her chest, stomach, and face covered with almost indiscernible fuzz. "At first I thought it wasss kinda cute, but I couldn't let anyone else sssee it. I'd ssseen what they'd been doing to mutantsss on tv, and I was almost possssitive that I'd caught the dessseassse too..."  
  
"Its not a disease Patricia, it's the next stage in human evolution."  
  
"I know... I heard that too... from othersss in my ssschool who changed. But it kept getting more complicated... I ssstarted to ssslur my s'sss... asss I'm sssure you've caught on to by now. And I ssstarted to feel more comfortable walking my dog and walking like my dog, then my mother asssked me why I'd been ssskipping gym." Patricia sighed and looked up at the Prof. "If I'd gone I'd have to change uniformsss, and they'd sssee my fur." She explained. "Ssso I was called into the Principalsss office and my mother had a teary meeting with him, but when we left ssshe yelled at me. I'd done sssomthing that wasss going to tarnesssh my permanent record. And I yelled back and ssaid I didn't care... I wasssn't going to gym ever again and ssshe could just live with having an imperfect daughter... Then ssshe started crying... so I hugged her, like I'd been careful not to for fear of tipping her off. Well, I was right... ssshe wasss tipped off... ssshe ssaid I wasssn't her daughter. What had I done with her daughter?" Patricia hung her head and giggled bitterly, "It wasssn't till later that I realized my eyesss had ssssplit pupilsss right then. I couldn't hide after that. She kicked me out, and everybody saw that as permission to hurt me. Damn my eyes."  
  
The Prof nudged his hand under her chin and studied the eyes that looked up at him, begging for just anyone to understand. "Your eyes are green." He commented, "they are very beautiful." Those eyes filled almost instantly with tears, they dripped over her soft downy cheeks and fell to the floor with little plops.  
  
"Thank you." Patricia whispered and leaned her head against his knee when he released her chin. "You are very kind."  
  
"Patricia..."  
  
"Pleasse, Proffesssor... I heard sssome kidssss, ssssome mutant kidsss, giving themssselvess nicknamesss.... I named mysssself Ssssshiva, pleassse, would you call me that?"  
  
"Of course, Shiva, I want you to stay here. Along with the rest of my students you can continue as you are. You can learn to control your gifts, you can be safe here, if you trust me."  
  
"Professssor?" Shiva looked up at him and grinned. "I think I would like that very much." 


	2. meet your nw roomie!

I got the first two chapters done right away, so I don't really see any need to postpone the posting of them... umm, same disclaimer applys! ***  
  
"Is the newbie awake yet Scott?" A gorgeous red head opened the door to admit the young mutant into her room. She grinned at her boyfriend and allowed his lips to press against hers as a greeting.  
  
"Like, eww!" An energetic young brunette rolled her eyes as she peeked up from a history text just in time to see the lip lock.  
  
"Oh shush Kitty, one day you'll like it too." Scott grinned and sat next to the girl as she flipped a page and glared up at him when he noogied her head.  
  
"Scott!" she pulled away and sat up to fix her ponytail. "Jean!" she whined, "make him leave me alone!"  
  
"Scott... come one, tell me, is she awake?" Jean placed her hands on Scotts cheeks, making him look up at her.  
  
"The wild thing is awake and growling." He confirmed, wrapping one of her hands in his own.  
  
"Like, Cool!" Kitty giggled and winked, "I'll see you later!" The book flipped closed as the girl phased through the wall to her own room on the other side. She then phased through the floor to fall gracefully to the space just on the other side of the Profs office door.  
  
"Hey, half-pint?" the deep, almost growling voice above the girls head had her jumping in shock. "Watch where you're go'in."  
  
"Oh! Sorry Mr. Logan!" she giggled and pulled her hand out of his stomach. "I just wanted to meet the new girl."  
  
/Kitty?/  
  
"Coming Professor!" she skipped through the door and smiled at the wide green eyes watching her with awe. "Hi! I'm Shadowcat!" she winked, "But mostly people call me Kitty."  
  
"Thanks for coming Kitty." The Professor said dryly, well aware the girl would have been determined to be the first to meet Shiva anyway. "Logan." He nodded as the large man entered the room by opening the door first. Shiva immediately smelled the blood on him and shrank behind the Professors chair.  
  
"What's up Chuck?" his nose immediately sniffed the fear coming from the young girl, and he relaxed his shoulders and sat down to try to appear less threatening than he normally did. "Relax kid, I don't eat cats."  
  
"Yeah! He's, like, totally house trained!" Kitty giggled at the growl that exited Logan's lips. Shiva smiled shyly and inched out from behind the Profs chair. "Oh wow!" Kitty exclaimed, "You're fuzzy like Kurt!"  
  
"Fuzzy?" Shiva rose an eyebrow and crawled over to the couch across from Logan's seat.  
  
"Yeah, but he's, like, blue too." Kitty cocked her head and grinned. Her eyes sparkled as she smacked a wad of bubblegum into submission. "Hey Professor?"  
  
"Yes Kitty?" Xavier folded his hands together and was once again reminded how Kitty was such a wonderful person as she asked,  
  
"Do you think she could stay with Rogue and me? I mean, I know things are a bit hectic with the new mutants around, and I don't think Rogue would mind." She shrugged, "Too much."  
  
"Shiva?"  
  
"Could I Professor?" Shiva grinned up at him and purred when he gave into temptation and scratched behind a feline pointed ear.  
  
"I don't see why not." He agreed, and let Kitty take charge.  
  
"Awesome! Come on Shiva! I'll show you everything!" Shiva's hand was barely in Kitty's before the young brunette dragged the new girl to her feet, and out the door, once again omitting the handle. Logan smirked as the cat girl yipped on the other side.  
  
"So... you anticipating any trouble with this one Chuck?" He got to his feet and walked to one of the wide windows over looking the spacious grounds of the mansion, and watched a few kids playing basketball in the court. He grinned as one of them fell, duplicating into others in shock. Five of the same kid sat on the ground blinking identical near sighted eyes before falling back in on the original. A tall black teen, his hair bleached blond, helped the younger boy to his feet before snagging the ball and shooting it directly to the basket. A teen with ice blue eyes shot an ice pick from his forefinger and knocked the ball off course. Logan could almost hear the debate over powerless basketball versus "new ball" as it had been dubbed. Spyke was just as annoyed that the powerless rule had been ignored, as he was about his shot being knocked off course by Bobby, the "ice man".  
  
"No more than usual, though I am debating whether her mother should be contacted. It seems she was kicked out when her powers were revealed... these are the tricky ones."  
  
"Poor kid." Logan muttered. He did feel a little bond with the cat girl, almost immediately her eyes had conveyed the ease of a natural hunter, something the wolf himself recognized as dangerous and intriguing.  
  
"Just keep an eye on her, as the rest will be doing. I'm sure if she needs your help, Logan, you'll know it." 


	3. fuzzball number two!

Oh, wow, ok.... For some reason all my creative energys have been going toward trying to find a copy of ultimate spiderman issue 52, so I apologize for not updating, I've got a tentative two- maybe three chapters done this week... of course I also have to say sorry to my Kenshin fans out there, seeing as how I haven't updated his story at all... eh... (sweat drop) ++++  
Richard-Raven-Croft- wow! Thanks for reviewing! Hopefully this'll keep you interested!  
  
Um, for Kurts accent, I apologize if its wrong in any way, I've never really written accent before... oh! And yes its German he's speaking at first! I found it in Fruits Basket volume 2! I'm going to borrow my friends german-english dictionary to see if I can't spice it up a bit! Basically he's just saying hello, and you're cute! And once again, to protect myself, X-men is not mine, though I think Kurt should change his contract and be my little blue elf... doesn't seem like its going to be happening anytime soon! +++++  
  
Almost immediately after phasing through the door Shiva found herself coughing at the scent of sulfur and the blue cloud of smoke that surrounded them.  
  
"Gutentag!" a boys voice emerged from the fog and seemed to wrap around her head as it dissipated.  
  
"Ah!" Shiva jumped as large blue paws wrapped around her waist.  
  
"Sehr Angenehm!" The warmth next to her ear tickled the fuzz causing her to giggle softly.  
  
"Kurt!" Kitty placed her hands on her hips and glared.  
  
"Vhat?"  
  
"Let her go!" Kitty reached around Shiva and pulled on the boys ear.  
  
"Ach! Kitty!" he protested as he was guided away from the new girl. Shiva settled down on all fours and looked up at the fuzzy blue teen. He had two long fingers and a thumb on each hand, at his clawed feet a spear pointed tail twitched. His hair was long for a boys, and shiny black. His eyes were kind as he crouched down to make his own study of her.  
  
"Sssoo?" Shiva grinned, cocking her head.  
  
"Sehr hubsch!" Kurt expanded his smile until the points on his teeth glittered.  
  
"In, like, English Kurt?" Kitty tapped her foot in annoyance.  
  
"Sorry Kitty." He said, but didn't look the least bit chastised.  
  
"That'sss ok Kurt, I think you're cute too."  
  
"Ach! You speak German?" his eyes widened in shock.  
  
"No..." Shiva admitted, "but I know when a guy is hitting on me, Fuzzy."  
  
"Did you just call me Fuzzy?" Kurt laughed.  
  
"Yeah, ssso?"  
  
"Welch, dien, I dub thee Fur ball!"  
  
"Fur ball?" Shiva laughed, "I guess I can live with it, once in a while, but otherwise call me Shiva."  
  
"Oh, vonder if Ororo's fixed lunch yet..." Kurt said as his stomach roared. "Come on cat girls! Lets go check!" Kitty giggled at the new link to the girl and herself as Kurt grabbed each of their hands and 'bamphed' into the kitchen.  
  
"Kuurt." The warning tone was something Kurt had heard before, and was most likely to hear again, so he took it philosophically.  
  
"Vhen's lunch Storm?" the blue elf asked of the African goddess. Her long white hair fell almost to her knees, held back from a striking face that just screamed dignity. She smiled when her gaze fell on the new recruit.  
  
"Lunch is when it is Kurt, who's your new friend?" she held out her hand, long fingers decorated with thin gold bands, which also decorated fragile wrists so that when she moved they chimed musically.  
  
"This is Shiva, Storm." Kitty replied as Shiva wrapped her hand around Storms, carefully lest she accidentally break something delicate. The shake was firm though, immediately banishing the thought that Ororo was anything but a tough mamma.  
  
"Hello." Storm smiled, "my name is Ororo, but you can call me Storm. Either or works for me."  
  
"Thank you for having me here." Shiva muttered.  
  
"Are you hungry?"  
  
"Storm!!" Kurt exclaimed as his stomach growled.  
  
"A little bit," Shiva nodded, mischief in her eyes, "Maybe it was all that time I was asleep, but I do have a bit of an appetite."  
  
"How about a sandwich then? We have some left over ham from last night..." her eyes twinkled as well as Kurt groaned, "Maybe some potato salad..."  
  
"That sounds good. Thanks."  
  
When the food was ready, and the three teens were sitting at the table, Shiva took a huge bite from the sandwich and genuinely moaned in appreciation. "Wow, if this is left overs I can't wait for dinner tonight!" And she tugged her plate back from where Kurt was trying to nudge it over with his paw. "Ororo said that you could wait Kurt!"  
  
"Oweee, I'm so hungry!"  
  
"Well maybe if you weren't teleporting all the time you wouldn't get so hungry!" Kitty scolded.  
  
"But..."  
  
"Eh!" Kitty interrupted. "No buts! I mean, like, what would you do if you couldn't, like, teleport? You'd walk like the rest of us!"  
  
"Yeah, and if you couldn't phase you'd have to learn how to knock!" Kurt retorted,  
  
"You'd valk into valls all the time!"  
  
"Children." Ororo warned, "Not right now, if you want to continue this debate, take it out of my kitchen..." As they turned to leave she giggled, "Oh, Kurt, catch!" and the second sandwich flew on an air current and smacked the boy in the face. He caught the plastic bag with tears in his eyes.  
  
"Thanks Storm!" He grinned at the girls, "I'll see you lovely ladies later!"  
  
'bamph!' 


	4. reflection

Standard disclaimer applies ++++  
  
Shiva yawned mightily as she lounged, perched on a tree limb, overlooking the institute.  
  
After only a few weeks in the other mutants company she was really beginning to believe she belonged. Somehow, all unwittingly, she had become the new mutants unofficial mascot. Noone could seem to go through a day without petting her in come way. Jamie; the young boy with the power to make multiples of himself, especially enjoyed running into something to create a few more of himself and scratching behind both ears, at her spine and behind her shoulder blades. She purred just thinking about it.  
  
Since her powers had begun to manifest she'd lost the ease of tactile contact. Now that she'd found it again, it was something she didn't want to loose.  
  
Another thing she'd grown to love, while most of the others groaned, was Danger Room Sessions.  
  
The first trial Wolverine had set her had been simple- dodge the spikes shooting out of the walls, floor and ceiling, grab the object on the opposite side of the room and bring it to the door. Shiva'd reveled at the challenge and passed with a new record that beat everyone of the students times except Kurts.  
  
Kurt himself was fun to be around, his girlfriend, Amanda, was a lovely human who seemed content knowing that under the image inducer, Kurt wore to school; there was a fuzzy blue boy-  
  
'bamph!'  
  
"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..." he teased from the branch over her.  
  
"Hi Kurt." Shiva stretched, popping every joint in her body at the same time.  
  
"Yow!" he exclaimed as the pops sounded.  
  
"You needed ssssomething fuzz-brain?" Shiva grinned and licked her lips lazily with a pink tongue.  
  
"Oh! Yeah, the Professor vhanted to talk to you." Kurt wrapped his tail around the cat girls waist and, without waiting for a protest, teleported with a 'bamph!'  
  
"Kurt!" Shiva coughed as they arrived outside the Professors office in a cloud of blue gas. "It'sss going to take me forever to get you outa my fur!" She sniffed her arm and the faint tinge of sulfur reached her sensitive nostrils.  
  
"Shiva?" the Professor called from behind the door. Since she had come, and agreed to stay, the Prof hadn't entered her mind for so much as a hello. She was grateful he realized how much it bothered her.  
  
"Yes Professssor?" She opened the door and almost shut it again when she recognized the scent coming from the woman sitting in a chair facing the desk and the wide windows.  
  
"Would you come in please?" Shiva didn't understand, what was her mother doing? Talking to the Professor?  
  
"Shiva?" Kurt touched her hair, his paw served to remind her that whatever else happened, they would all support her. She squared her shoulders and gave Kurt a grin.  
  
"Thanks for the ride Kurt. I'll be all right." With that she sank to all fours and loped into the office. The door shut behind her with a definite thump. 


	5. can't always get what you want

Once again + Standard disclaimer... blah!  
  
++++++  
  
"Hello Diane." Shiva took her accustomed position next to the window on the floor. Professor Xavier smiled politely at her mother while his hand patted Shiva once on the shoulder.  
  
"Shiva, your mother heard about the school we have here and came to ask me to find you."  
  
"Why?" she asked the Prof, ignoring her mother all together.  
  
"I found a program for you!" her mother cried out, obviously distressed at how familiar and comfortable the creature her daughter had become seemed to be in this mutant gathering place. "Its experimental yet, but you could be human again!" hope clearly rang in her voice, and Shiva realized her mother just didn't understand.  
  
She let her head hang limp as she considered her words carefully.  
  
"Mom," her voice was soft in its delivery, careful but firm with intent. She went over to crouch next to her mothers chair, lifted her limp hand and placed her mothers hand on her head for the first touch in nearly six months. "Feel how sssoft I am. Thiss iss who and what I am. I am not assshamed for frightened anymore, thisss isss who I want to be, who I need to be. I need to be mysssself, and I'm ssssorry that I can't be normal for you, like you want me to be. I'm going to forgive you for flipping out on me, and I hope you can forgive me for thisss." The stiff hand on her head began to relax, "I'm going to asssk you to allow me to stay here, with Professssor X." she felt the hand trail down her head, scratching softly at her ear before resting on her shoulder, where the fur was short and downy.  
  
"You don't want to be human?" Diane asked in a tiny voice, thick with tears that still didn't understand.  
  
"Mom! Look at me." Shiva commanded. "Look into my eyes. Forget the shape and who do you see?" The green globes seemed to glow around the split iris, but it was all forgotten as Diane stared into her daughters eyes. They were the same eyes that had looked up at her when Patricia was five and had scrapped her knee. Hurt, and afraid, but with the utter confidence that mommy could make it all better  
  
Shiva knew what she was putting on the line- if her mother rejected her she'd be broken again. She'd pick up the pieces with the help of the X-men, but it would never be the same.  
  
So her heart fairly soared as her mother choked back tears and pulled her daughter into her arms.  
  
"Mom!" Shiva cried into her shoulder. After a few minutes of tears Diane eased back and looked Professor Xavier right in the eye.  
  
"I would like to enroll my daughter in your school."  
  
"I think that could be arranged." He nodded and tossed Shiva a watch.  
  
"Prof?" she set it on her wrist and her eyes narrowed when she recognized the face and buttons. "I don't need this." She went to remove it, but her mother grabbed her wrist for a closer look.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Its an image inducer, like Kurts. And yes, Shiva, you will need it. As long as your living here you have to go to school. You need a high school diploma if you're going to do anything in this world besides flipping burgers."  
  
"You mean..."  
  
"Yes, on Monday, you will report to public school, like the rest of them."  
  
"What does an image inducer do?" Diane asked as she fiddled with buttons. She yelped as she touched one on the side and a slight shock caught her unawares. One minute she was sitting next to her fuzzy daughter, the next a young woman with golden hair and tan skin was kneeling on the floor at her feet.  
  
"Professor!" Shiva protested.  
  
"Its necessary, I'm afraid."  
  
"Honey, deal with it." Diane said firmly as Patricia began to mutter to herself. "You've got one year left of school. Live with the fact that you can't always get what you want." 


	6. no fuzz on me!

Ok, sorry its taken so long, the only reason you're getting this now is because I have insomnia... I do have a couple shout outs for people who were kind enough to review last time, and a little rant that I think would detract from the first school day and Shivas first school friend... hee hee... so I'll wait till the end for that...  
  
By the way, x-men, in any shape or form, do not belong to me, but its still fun to play with them....  
  
On with the story...! ******************  
  
Algebra was a myriad of x, y and pie graphs right before lunch. Shiva watched the clock with a fervor she'd never had before. The teacher, Mr. Guesse, had a way of making a simple math problem last a decade.  
  
"Patricia." He called, she jumped.  
  
"Yes, sir?" she asked, chastised by his baleful glare.  
  
"Do problem four on the board." Jubilee sat to her left, and casually held out a hand as Shiva passed. The support warmed her and reminded her that she was not alone in the tension filled room. She could practically hear the hatred out loud. {new freak} the glares all said.  
  
If she thought it hurt when her own mother pushed her away for being a mutant, the animosity in the school, from every direction, was almost worse.  
  
She finished the problem, correctly and with a little bow she smiled, "Thankew, thankew."  
  
The bell rang.  
  
Jubilee caught up her bookbag and tossed it to the cat girl, "Don't forget girl. You may never see it again." She muttered, readjusting the goggles on her hair.  
  
"I wish." Shiva said fervently as Jubilee laughed. She hitched the bag on her shoulder and wished that someone would snatch it away, do her homework, and deposit it back in her hand in time for her next class.  
  
"I'll see you later Shiv."  
  
"Later!" They broke off at the entrance to the cafeteria. Shiva studied the large room, already filling with hungry students, as she stepped into the lunch line.  
  
"So you're the new one, aren't you?" a deep voice above her head rumbled. Shiva took a tray from the pile and looked up at the chisled good looks of a jock.  
  
"You're wonderfully observant. Yes, I am the new student. You've got the brains of the football team today, don't you?"  
  
"We don't like your kind."  
  
"What kind? Females?" she leaned back and looked around conspiratorially, "are you gay?"  
  
The boy was large, built, and eyed her with the same distaste she would eye a bowl of asparagus.  
  
"Mutants." He spat out the word like it would dry on his tongue and infect him.  
  
"Yeah, well, I don't like your kind. You petty minded asshole. So, I'll stay away from you..." she said as she grabbed a fruit cup and smiled at the lunch lady, "Chicken please..." she opened the fridge box and took out a carton of chocolate milk, "and you'll stay away from me, and we'll both be happy." She placed some ketchup packets on her tray for the frys and turned to the register to pay.  
  
"We don't want you in our school." He persisted.  
  
"Well, you don't get to have a say in that." She pocketed her change and turned to face him as he paid for his over sized portions. Obviously he had some redeeming qualitys if the lunch ladies were that nice to him. So she gave him a break and didn't slap him across the face like she wanted to. "What have I done to you? Why do you hate me? You don't even know me."  
  
He paid for his lunch and followed her as she looked for an empty table. She sat down in the corner, next to a window, and was shocked when he sat across from her. She spotted Scott and the others sitting across the cafeteria, and was about to leave to go to them when he said, "I don't need to know you... you're all alike." She paused and shot him a glare. Scott made as if to come and get her, but Shiva shook her head, and sat back down. Scott raised his eyebrows, but waved to let her know that he was there if she needed him.  
  
"We're all the same?" Shiva asked as the boy began to eat.  
  
"You're all unnatural freaks? Yeah." He looked up at her just in time to see her spear a piece of chicken with unnecessary force for the poor dead bird.  
  
"Who told you that?" she asked through clenched teeth. "That we're unnatural?"  
  
"My parents, the news, everybody."  
  
"Well then, you bonehead, let me tell you something that they wouldn't ever admit to in their stuck-up-self-righteous lives." Shiva struggled with the milk carton, she tried to think of how to put it in terms that the jock would understand. "Goddamn cartons!" she growled, and without thinking, shoved it into the boys hands. He took it, opened it calmly, and placed it next to her tray as she sat there, breathing deeply to control herself.  
  
"Thank you." She opened her eyes and smiled pleasantly.  
  
"So, you have information that no one else has?" he asked, trying to get to the answer, and forgetting that he was having an enjoyable lunch period with a mutant. He thought it was funny that she got all worked up over a milk carton.  
  
"No. Not that no one else has, just something they don't want to admit." Shiva took a bite of chicken and paused, blinking down at it. "Wow, this stuff is toxic."  
  
"Drown it in ketchup, it'll be fine." He said while shoveling a huge spoonful into his mouth.  
  
"Thanks, by the way, names Pat." She held out a hand. He paused warily in the act of holding out his own.  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"Its common courtesy." Shiva smirked, "but if you want to be a jerk." She shrugged and began to withdraw her palm. The smirk widened as his hand met hers, his finger gripped tightly.  
  
"Sam." He said before realizing that while her hand looked perfectly normal, as it tightened around his, he felt tiny claws pricking his palm, and soft fur under his fingers.  
  
"So, I was saying, Sam...." Shiva released his hand and chuckled as he blinked and slowly moved his hand until it was under the table. "Mutants aren't unnatural. In fact, we're the next stage of human evolution."  
  
************** staci- thank you very much for your review. Um, there will be some coupling later on. Of course remy and rouge are the big couple, and I just can't split that up ( they are too cute!) but kurt stays with Amanda (sorry!), basically because they are such an awesome part of the show!  
  
To Evo Avenger- yes, I know, cat girls are big in fan fics, mostly I think, because they are never used in the real shows... or at least, I haven't seen one. And think about it, who wouldn't want to be a cat girl? Graceful and slim, fuzzy and pampered? (well, I'd rather be a ferret or something- yes, seriously- but my cat girl was a favor character for a friend, she just happens to be the first fuzz to be introduced) And yes, bonding with Logan is cliché- but notice that they haven't really bonded, he's just acknowledging that cats are natural hunters... he's a natural hunter, so kudos, basically. Thank you for graciously gifting me with points, I really needed some seeing as how I'm thirsting for your approval. I do acknowledge the fact that my characterization needs some help... I've actually only seen like, ten episodes of this show, most of my details come from reading the original comics, so when I saw the show I just loved the fact that there were my favorite characters as teens! Maybe I'll find more episodes, but I don't watch much tv. (one thing I was majorly pissed about was that Logan is too old for the Jean-Scott-Logan love triangle... if it happened now it would just be gross.)  
  
And by the way, I don't really care that you prefer to see toad tripping over his tongue. He'll be in the fic because he's part of the story, but I'm not putting in any fan service for people who write in such a condescending manner.  
  
And if you're getting a kick because you got under my skin, congrats, its not easy to do. You get points for that. (by the way, jubilee wears goggles right? I know she did in the original show... I loved that yellow jacket of hers!) 


	7. dry ice and fuzz galore

Well, here I am on a Sunday, I love Sundays, and I'm waiting for dinner to commence! Dinner at grandmas house! Anyway, I updated, and I'm having bunches of fun with little pieces of the original group interacting with Shiva. Its fun, and I've got a bunch of jokes lined up. I've just got to find where to put them!  
  
Artemis000- wow! Thanks so much for reviewing! And yea, sam is a pretty nice guy, and he'll have some tough choices to make in the future... keep reading, find out!  
  
Moonshadow10- oh my gosh! Yeah! Cat characters are awesome, I've been reading yours... oh my gosh its sooo cool! Keep updating!  
  
Anyway, like usual, Xmen in any shape or form do not belong to me, but enjoy!  
  
***  
  
"So, heard you were talking to Sam Quigly at lunch." Bobby, the Ice man, sat next to Shiva during chemistry.  
  
"Yeah, he'sss not half bad a guy." Shiva shrugged, "I just get the feeling that, like my mom, most of the people around here are ill-informed."  
  
"Yeah, around here and the rest of the planet." Bobby quipped.  
  
"Oh- do you mind?" Shiva pulled a pop can from her bag and handed it to the young mutant as the teacher walked in.  
  
"Course not." He took it while the bell rang, and handed it back to the cat girl before opening his notebook and turning his attention to the short balding man who was their teacher. Shiva took a sip of ice cold coke as Mr. Killborn passed out gloves.  
  
"Today we will be experimenting with dry ice. I know it does not look cold, but please- and I cannot stress this enough- it is. Wear the gloves and goggles people, I don't want any trips to the emergency room."  
  
"If you can't ssstand the cold..." Shiva muttered under her breath.  
  
"Then stay outa the ice mans way." The two mutants grinned at each other, and the class continued.  
  
***  
  
Free from the restrictions of school and the image inducer, Shiva dropped her bag off in the common room and launched out the window to run across the hills to her favorite tree. She yawned the clean air and flicked her nails out to sharpen them on the branch she lay on. Her thoughts drifted for a while, passing by, but not focusing on her day at school. It seemed as if they all glared at her, excepting a grumpy boy with messy brown hair in her English class and a couple of boys, one with a hunch walk and sickly green skin, the other was several times the size of the largest jock she'd seen. She snorted, wondering how that boy had walked through a door that morning. Those three boys smelled similar, each different and unique, but... sullen, she decided, as if each had looked at the world and was certain they didn't want any part in it.  
  
Sam... now there was an enigma. Shiva lay her head on her crossed paws and smiled gently. He smelled of dirt and old spice, that same scent her father used to wear. Sam would sit with her again, she knew, if his jock friends didn't pull him away. He was interested in what she had to say, he was intelligent, and maybe if he understood- maybe others would follow.  
  
"Yo!" a large spike implanted itself in the tree bark an inch from Shiva's nose. She blinked and looked down at the boy who'd tossed it up.  
  
"Yo yoursself. Whatssss up boy?" she asked, making the black teen flush as she climbed down the trunk, agile as a squirrel, and touched her nose to his. He smelled solidly of dust and the stuff he used to oil his skateboard wheels.  
  
"Ummm...The Prof wanted to see you. He wants to know how your first day went." Spyke coughed as Shiva landed on the ground and stood straight. He wasn't as tall as most of the boys, but as she stood there Shiva really realized how short she was compared to the others. Her eyes went up to his collar bone and his shoulders were at least twice as wide as hers. He backed up and patted her head. "I told him I'd fetch you."  
  
"Thankssss Sssspyke." Shiva started to follow him as he turned toward the mansion, but the snap sound of a branch behind her had her twirling. "Wait." She laid a hand on te boys arm, "There'sss ssssomeone here..." she sniffed the air cautiously, "wind... and... hair gel?"  
  
"Quicksilver!" Spyke let loose an array of arm spikes into the forest. A slight yelp and the brush of a quick wind against their cheeks told them that not only had they frightened the intruder away, Spyke had gotten a hit.  
  
"He'ss bleeding." Shiva confirmed as she sniffed the air again. "Who was that? Ssspyke?"  
  
"No one important," his eyes roamed the forest, "I'll tell you about it later." Spyke put his hand on Shivas back and scratched absent-minded. "Lets go see the Prof."  
  
***  
  
Shiva stepped into the office, once again taking a deep breath and smelling the old books and the floral scent of the Proffesor. This time, however, the smell of flowers was companied by grass, dirt, and twizzlers.  
  
"Prof? You wanted to sssee me?"  
  
"Yes," he wheeled out from behind his desk and toward a pile of fur resting on a side table that once held a lamp. "For several reasons actually." As he spoke the fur twitched and a pair of pointed ears peeked out from the middle, and a tiny black nose shoved its way from under it all to sniff madly.  
  
"Who isss thiss?" Shiva asked as she knelt down and breathed out sharply so the creature could catch her scent and know her not to be a threat.  
  
"They," the Prof smiled, "actually." He placed his hand under the nose and pulled a tail from over its eyes. "This one is Veit." A cute fox face emerged from under the tail, his eyes were large and a clear green, his teeth as he yawned, proved to be sharp little buggers. "Hana." The two ears on top popped up as the other fox heard her name. While Veit's fur was more orange, Hana's fur was a chocolate brown, her bright blue eyes stood out against the dark fuzz. "Zikra?" Professor Xavier asked as a low growl developed from the middle of the pile of bodies.  
  
"Zikra!" Veits voice was small, but deep.  
  
"Mew?" a head popped out next to Hana's, her fur was a deep red with white circles around one green eye, and one blue eye.  
  
"Meet friend?" Hana whispered in a soft, hesitant, breathy voice.  
  
"Mew."  
  
"Shiva." She introduced herself and put her nose next to the girls to give them her scent.  
  
"Mew." Zikra agreed, then stuck her face back into the combined furs of herself and her siblings.  
  
"Professsor?" Shiva asked.  
  
"They were abandoned at our gates. I'm assuming that they are mutants, and my cerebro confirms it."  
  
"We are sir." Veit acknowledged.  
  
"How old are you?" Shiva asked, sitting on the floor and leaning into the Professors hand as he scratched behind her ear.  
  
"My sisters and I are ten, Shiva." Veit pulled himself from the pile and dropped down to sit in front of Shiva. He was incredibly small, probably only twice the size of a normal fox, his features not even remotely human. "We do possess the ability to change back to human form, but only when all three of us wish it. At the moment I'm having a hard time convincing my sisters that they can be safe here, so they wish to stay in a relatively safer form."  
  
"Jussst wait a minute... you're telling me that you're ten?" Shiva'd never heard a ten year old with such polite manners.  
  
"I'm advanced for my age." He looked down at the ground, as if blushing.  
  
"You want me to help you convice your sssisstersss that you're ssssafe here?" Shiva looked up at Xavier. "Sssir?"  
  
"I believe that you can Shiva. Give it a shot?" 


End file.
